Transfer stamping dies have long been utilized in the metal stamping industry. There have been a number of mechanisms heretofore proposed for automatically effecting the movement of a workpiece through the successive stations of a transfer die. See for example, the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,213, issued to Henzler et al. It is essential that the workpiece engaging mechanism be moved laterally relative to the flow of the workpieces through the press to engage the workpieces when the movable die of the press is in its raised or inactive position. This engagement motion should not be rough or forcible so as to either damage the workpiece or dislodge it by impact from proper engagement by the workpiece engaging mechanism. Thereafter, it is necessary that the workpiece be lifted from the die stations in which they have last been worked upon by vertical motion. It then becomes essential that the workpieces be horizontally translated to exactly overlie the next workpiece station. Again, the motion by which this step is accomplished should preferably involve a harmonic deceleration of the workpieces so they are at essentially zero velocity when they reach the new transfer position. From this position, the workpieces must be moved vertically downwardly into the next respective stations of the transfer die so that they are ready to receive the forming blow from the next reciprocation of the movable die part of the stamping press, and, of course, the workpiece engaging mechanism has to be moved out of the path of the moving die or plunger of the press.